Editorial: Charter schools could solve some problems

A proposal before the Lafayette Parish School Board to approve four charter schools could be the answer to some of the school district's problems. Charter schools could help provide a better eduction to children in disadvantaged areas and could help alleviate overcrowding in some parish schools.

But care should be taken to ensure the interests of all students in the district are protected.

Superintendent Pat Cooper told The Daily Advertiser on Tuesday that steps are being taken through contracts with Florida-based Charter Schools USA and Michigan-based National Heritage Academies, to make sure the charter schools will be held to the same policies as the district's traditional public schools.

That kind of contract could ensure that the problems that have cropped up with some charter schools will not happen here.

Although charter schools, which are considered public schools and receive public funding, should not be engaging in selective admissions, there are some that do, according to a recent investigation by Reuters. And there have been some that practice selective retention.

Some have required students' birth certificates and Social Security cards as a condition for admission, which is forbidden by federal law. Some require essays and pre-admissions testing, according to Reuters. One Philadelphia charter school even requires character references, the Washington Post reported.

Some charter schools have maintained their scores on standardized tests by eliminating weaker students. According to the Washington Post, Washington, D.C., charter schools expelled 676 students in the past three years, compared to 24 expelled from traditional D.C. schools.

But that only points out the need for approving schools that have been "vetted thoroughly" and have a "good track record," as these have, Cooper said.

The charter schools will help to "fill a gap" that is growing in the LPSS district, especially in the southern part of the parish, Cooper said, where schools are "bursting at the seams."

In spite of recent expansion, some Youngsville schools will experience more overcrowding in the near future because of the rapid growth of the area. A charter school strategically placed to handle the growing student population will be of great benefit there.

Some school board members and members of the public have expressed concern that public school funds will be drained from traditional schools, which are already struggling. The per-pupil allocation of about $8,000 provided through the Minimum Foundation Plan will follow the student if they leave a traditional school for a charter school. So, when that amount is given to a charter school, it is subtracted from the budget of the student's former school. The school still has to pay the same operating costs - utilities, teacher salaries, transportation and more. An estimated $5 million could go to the charter schools, if they are approved at the Aug. 21 school board meeting.

But Cooper maintains that steps will be taken to ensure that existing schools will not suffer.

Besides, he said, the schools are coming, with or without the school board's approval.

If approved, the schools would be considered Type I charter schools, and would operate cooperatively with LPSS, following the terms of their contract with the school system.

If they are not approved, they can bypass the local school board and apply to the Louisiana State Department of Education as a Type II school, with no ties to local school officials.

It would be better to have these schools operating within the system - one of the major complaints from charter school opponents is lack of oversight.

With schools in Lafayette Parish facing discipline problems, low-performing schools, overcrowding and other issues, charter schools could provide relief on several fronts.

If the addition of charter schools to LPSS could be accomplished while efforts to improve conditions at traditional schools continue, it would represent an important step forward for the parish's educational system.

But it has to be done right.

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Editorial: Charter schools could solve some problems

A proposal before the Lafayette Parish School Board to approve four charter schools could be the answer to some of the school district's problems.